I’m a fat bastard.  Not, like, medically fat.  But, by my standards, fat.  So, what do I do?  I quit drinking (much to my editor’s chagrin. Apparently, I’m not only a better writer, but also a better person when drunk – go figure.), and I started working out.  Can I tell you how much it sucks to start working out as a 39-year-old fat man?  It sucks. I really, really, really miss being 21, thin, and in shape.

How does this impact the comic?  Stop asking stupid questions and read on.

So, I read Gargoyle by Moonlight after getting my butt kicked in the gym.  Sore, sad, and reminiscing about not being a fat bastard, I opened the virtual comic book and turned the virtual page . . . and it was good.  I was 21 again – the comic was simple, pure, and easy on the eyes (just the way I like the ladies, btw).  But, I digress – let’s get to brass tacks.

Moonlight Comics is an indie venture out of St. Louis. (Of course, all great things come from St. Louis . . . ?)  It’s run by a group of guys who I really like.  I’ve never met any of ‘em, but I read their bios, and they’re nice guys.  I can tell.  The writer of Gargoyle by Moonlight and founder of Moonlight Comics is none other than Timothy Bach.  Turns out he’s got an old-school mentality when it comes to comics; he likes good guys to be good, bad guys to be bad, and damsels in distress to be pretty and less stabby/dirty.  He does a fabulous job with this comic. Like my old stuffed animal of a mongoose Reggie (How I miss Reggie.), it’s so easy to cuddle up to a comic like this and just chill.

The art, done by none other than Brian Atkins and Juan Romera (with inks and letters by Jeremiah Lambert), works nicely with the style of the comic.  Clean, crisp, and not too “artsy,” it’s simple to understand what’s happening and pleasing to not struggle with some ridiculous rendering of weirdness that tends to permeate the industry we love. (Comics – duh.)

Overall, this comic is perfect for dads trying to convince their Facebook-addicted kids to read a comic (a.k.a. Gateway Comic) and even better for us 39 year olds who are sick and tired of complicated, broken, artsy, angsty everything that can be the world of comics today.